Chief Justice unearths corruption cartel at traffic courts

Chief Justice Willy Mutunga yesterday unearthed a corruption cartel that has been minting and pocketing millions of shillings from traffic offenders.

The scam involves police, brokers and unscrupulous court officials, and has been targeting motorists who do not wish to be presented in court.

The cartel, Mr Mutunga said, had set up parallel “courts” outside the law courts, blocking traffic offenders from prosecution. He said the government was losing millions of shillings in revenue as fines and bail ended up lining the pockets of law enforcers and brokers.

“Apart from the illegal courts, the same culprits have been issuing fake receipts for money being paid as cash bails by motorists,” he said.

“The few people who attend court with traffic offences are those who have refused to pay bribes and even if they have committed some crime, they should be commended and have their cases concluded fast,” he added.

The scam was uncovered after a motorist lodged an official complaint with the Judiciary after it emerged that the receipts he was issued at a police station did not tally with court records and he could not get his money back.

The CJ was addressing traffic offenders at the Milimani Traffic Courts during a tour of the section to assess compliance with the new traffic guidelines he issued in June.

Earlier, Mr Mutunga visited the Kibera Law Courts and the Milimani Traffic Registry, where he uncovered massive corruption involving police and some court staff who have taken control of the traffic courts.

He said the Judiciary would soon release a booklet that would help motorists understand the guidelines and help in sealing some of the loopholes that are being used to fleece the government.

“We have realised that the police have been rubbishing the traffic guidelines but soon we will dismantle these cartels that have turned the courts into dens of corruption. As Judiciary, we have already identified the gaps and we will be reaching out to agencies, mainly the police and prisons, where the cartels have found refuge,” said the CJ.

Some of the measures the Judiciary will put in place include the use of mobile money transfer services like M-Pesa to ensure fines and bail get to public coffers. This, the CJ said, would make it easier for traffic offenders to get back their money after being cleared by courts.

There are only two courts that handle traffic offences at the Milimani Law Courts yet the staff told the Business Daily that hundreds of cases are filed daily. Some traffic offenders and lawyers told the CJ that their cases were taking too long to be determined yet some of the offences were straight-forward.

In June, Mr Mutunga issued new traffic guidelines aimed at stemming the increasing cases of corruption. In the new rules, no traffic offender will be locked up in police or court cells before being given enough time to pay fines.

The CJ further directed that traffic fines be processed in open courts.